John James Audubon - Snowy Egret, Sergei Prokofiev -From Romeo and Juliet, Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander - All Things Bright and Beautiful

I'd like to introduce a new artist this week.  John James Audubon was an American Wildlife painter.  He was fascinated with America's wildlife and set out to discover and paint all the birds of North America.  His book  The Birds of North America is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed and is still popular today.  You will likely be able to find it at your local library or at least get your librarian to order it for you.  We live in a small town and our library has it as does another library in a small town near where we lived before.  We will only be able to cover a sampling of Audubon's wonderful paintings so I recommend trying to get a copy.  My children have enjoyed browsing through the paintings - learning about birds as they go. Some years ago when we studied Audubon for the first time I asked each of my children to choose two of their favorite paintings from    The Birds of North America.  I then had colored prints (photocopies) made and we all enjoyed studying the prints as well as trying our hand at copying our favorites.  I was surprised that even some of the younger children did quite well at copying these.  Audubon also painted mammals and there are books that include these as well.  You may enjoy reading a biography of Audubon's life while you study his works.  One children's book we've read about his life is  The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies.  There are probably many different biographies of Audubon and you can see what is available at your local library.  The following are biographical sketches of his life online:


http://www.jjaudubongallery.com/AudubonBio.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon
http://www.biography.com/people/john-james-audubon-9192248


Today's painting is of a Snowy Heron or White Egret.  There are many details to take note of including the background.

Snowy Heron or White Egret by John James Audubon

Our music today is another orchestral piece by Sergei Prokofiev.  It is a fairly dramatic piece from a longer work called Romeo and Juliet performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.  One of the things I liked about this particular video is that it shows the various instruments being played as they are featured.  I also noticed that the conductor has very expressive hands as he directs the music.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_hOR50u7ek


Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander wrote many poems and hymns one which inspired the title of this blog, "All Things Bright and Beautiful.  Following is a nice biographical sketch.
http://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/biographies/alexander.html

Maker of Heaven and Earth (All Things Bright and Beautiful) All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings. The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, And ordered their estate. The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The sunset, and the morning, That brightens up the sky; The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one. The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows where we play, The rushes by the water, We gather every day;-- He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell, How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well.